Changing mobile

I'm looking at buying a new phone and it strikes me that there is no simple way to move all stuff around from one phone to the next. Basically the standard advice is "sync everything to the cloud and let Google profit from it", which I find quite sad, and doesn't even work for everything.

So, any good tips on how to move stuff to a new phone? Contacts should be on the SIM card and thus move seamlessly (assuming the card can store things like profile pictures and custom ring tones?). Emails and similar internet-based stuff, well, I just need to logon from the new phone to get them. That leaves me with text messages, non-internet apps and various files (music and pictures mostly). Files, I can always copy them manually, not a big deal. Text messages, there are apparently some apps that are dedicated to doing that, but what is the easiest way? Apps... no idea. I guess I'll have to reinstall those (not a big deal) and redo all my settings (for those where there is no sync to a remote service).

All in all, getting sure I get all my contacts (including more than just name + number) and text messages is probably what I care the most about (files as well, but those are easy to copy).

(and I feel I need to mention that my current phone is on Android 4, so features added in newer versions won't help me... I'm currently thinking about getting a Huawei P8 Lite which comes with Android 7, if that matters)

assuming the card can store things like profile pictures and custom ring tones

Unless it's changed a lot in the last few years, I doubt it. The expectation is that you'll have your contacts stored in your Google account rather than locally, so that's where all the development to improve the experience goes.

One option if you don't mind rooting both phones is Titanium Backup. You should be able to back up messages, contacts and other data to restore, but I wouldn't use it for apps or any system stuff since you're going between phones.

@remi
Since you are jumping between very different phones on very different versions I wouldn't bother with apps or their specific data. It won't be worth the trouble. Reinstall the apps you want to use again. The store normally will suggest these after you have logged on with your Google account. It's a new phone ... chances are you are getting a different experience from the same apps. Just reapply the settings when you use the apps.

And use any cloud provider to store your contacts and not on the phone.

SIM card has like 2 KB or memory, so you get maybe 100-ish contacts there with very basic info.

Yeah, that's what I thought as well. Last time I moved a sim card between phones I even lost all but the basic fields (i.e. custom notes, secondary addresses and the like).

Just use google sync. They don't care about your baby seal clubbing fetish.

One thing that bothers me is that I have at least 2 Google accounts and I deliberately avoid syncing too much stuff into them because I never know in which one it is (it's easier for me to know that the only place the info is is on my phone, rather than wondering when I log in from another computer why I see some stuff and not some other -- I know, it's not entirely logical, but who said humans are?). Also, since I currently don't use it (because I don't need it, more than anything), if there was a single process that did everything, that might be more suited to me than that.

Anyway, contacts, yeah, I guess a full sync with Google should do the trick. But as far as I know, this still doesn't solve the issue for text messages?

You don't necessarily need root to back up your application data, adb backup works as well for most apps. It's a bit hidden, though: You need to enable the developer options and set up a desktop backup password before you can use it.

Also, some data can be transferred via Bluetooth or NFC via an assistant when setting up the new phone. I have to admit that I'm not quite sure what exactly this transfers over to the new smartphone.

Helium lets you backup your apps and data to your SD card or cloud storage. With Helium, you can sync app data from your other Android devices-- even if they are not on the same network. Set up backup schedules with Helium, and never lose data again.

@remi For contacts, if you don't want to sync them to a Google Account you might be able to export them as a VCF file and restore that manually - either email it to yourself or stick it on a microSD card. On my phone, the export option is in the Contacts app under Settings, might be in a different spot on yours.

That said, most Android phones I've seen of late have been smart enough to link contacts that are the same together from wherever they're synched - I have some contacts that appear in Exchange and my Google account and it's figured out who is the same and they appear together with information from both on the same card. So if your concern with the multiple Google accounts is that, then this might relieve that particular problem.

For text messages, I use Carbonite's SMS Backup and Restore, which is free and can also do call logs. I've used it to move from an LG G3 to a Moto X Play to my current Galaxy S7 with no issues. It also supports a scheduled backup to Google Drive or Dropbox so if your phone does die, you can restore them pretty easily.

Yeah, I'd rather avoid that if I can. Not that I'd really mind, but I've never done it and I don't need it otherwise, so it feels a bit of overkill.

to back up your application data, adb backup works as well for most apps.

Oh, nice. I guess there are only a couple of apps where this would really matter to me (the other are either linked to internet or only have a couple of minimal settings such as choosing the color), but for those that might help.

Even nicer. Seems it backs up contacts and texts, in addition to apps. If it works for me, that would cover all I need. Works with Android >= 4, which is good for me. That might be the one-app-to-do-everything that I was looking for!

For text messages, I use Carbonite's SMS Backup and Restore, which is free and can also do call logs.

That's the one I've seen mentionned the most on that subject. The only point I'm not clear on is that it apparently requires the two phones to be on at the same time (for wifi sync). In my case, only one will have a sim at any time (since I'm not changing it!), which in theory shouldn't matter for wifi stuff, but I've not seen that clearly said anywhere.

That's the one I've seen mentionned the most on that subject. The only point I'm not clear on is that it apparently requires the two phones to be on at the same time (for wifi sync). In my case, only one will have a sim at any time (since I'm not changing it!), which in theory shouldn't matter for wifi stuff, but I've not seen that clearly said anywhere.

I've never used the wifi sync in it - didn't even know it had it, actually.

I just take the file it spits out to the new phone (either via email or Google Drive or OneDrive or a MicroSD card), install the app on the new phone, point it at the backup and it does its thing.

So it looks like I will first try Helium since it covers everything in one go, and if that doesn't work (which is apparently the case for some people e.g. @asdf), I'll go with Google for contacts, SMS Backup & Restore for texts, and adb backup for the apps.

Oh, another thing: pictures in my current phone are named something like (I don't remember exactly) YYYYMMDD-hhmmss.jpg. Is that a standard for Android, and if so, does that mean that if I copy all my old pictures into the right folder, they will appear in the new phone UI as if I had taken them with the new phone? (i.e., can I fool the new phone into handling all pictures the same way, including those from the old one that will obviously have a different format, tags etc.)

Yeah, custom UIs don't always make the best choices... as I said in the first post, I'm currently looking at a Huawei (P8 Lite, it seems like a cheap phone with some reasonable specs and good reviews). I hope their UI isn't too crappy.

(i.e., can I fool the new phone into handling all pictures the same way, including those from the old one that will obviously have a different format, tags etc.)

IME any gallery app will pick up pictures from anywhere on your phone, using Android's media service. Worst (?) case, it might display them as a separate "album" from the ones taken on the new phone, but they'll all still show up in the app. But in any case, especially if they're in the same folder, it'll treat them the same.

Yeah but it requires rooting the phone (well, both phones). As I said, not that I really object to that, except that it's going to be one more step for the sole purpose of transferring data, so if I can avoid it...

Also, the free version apparently can't backup SMS so it loses some of its appeal for me.

Yeah but it requires rooting the phone (well, both phones). As I said, not that I really object to that, except that it's going to be one more step for the sole purpose of transferring data, so if I can avoid it...

I'm pretty sure you can restore on a non-rooted device (and you may even be able to back up on a non-rooted device via workarounds, but I don't know). Having used it for years, I think it's worth it but if you haven't used it it's hard to make that call. Utterly transparent and scheduled backup/restore; everything's exactly the way you left it without having to log in again to apps, set up Bluetooth and wireless pairings again, etc. etc. It's all the little things (that are by now hard for me to remember since I haven't had to deal with them in so long).

Also, the free version apparently can't backup SMS so it loses some of its appeal for me.

I didn't know that. I think before I had the paid version I used SMS Backup and Restore. (I still use it occasionally because its backup is to an XML file that can be easily read, whereas I don't know that Titanium Backup's can be.)

@accalia You should make it report results through glowing of the screen, in various colors. You can even give them nice names for more user-friendlyness: Cherenkov blue, Chernobyl green, Fukushima red...

Agreed, the database formats have definitely changed for a lot of the system apps from that large of a jump, and many user apps tend to encrypt their stuff based on the phone's ID and behave rather poorly with databases from another phone.

One thing that bothers me is that I have at least 2 Google accounts and I deliberately avoid syncing too much stuff into them because I never know in which one it is (it's easier for me to know that the only place the info is is on my phone, rather than wondering when I log in from another computer why I see some stuff and not some other

I have no less than five. Only one (the first one) gets any more customization than a nice user profile picture. I don't have to worry about spurious data "Accidentally" getting synced to them, because I never switch to them.

In recent versions of Contacts (for example) there is a very clear demarcation between what part of the contact is stored on what account, so it's a bit easier.

Oh, another thing: pictures in my current phone are named something like (I don't remember exactly) YYYYMMDD-hhmmss.jpg. Is that a standard for Android, and if so, does that mean that if I copy all my old pictures into the right folder, they will appear in the new phone UI as if I had taken them with the new phone? (i.e., can I fool the new phone into handling all pictures the same way, including those from the old one that will obviously have a different format, tags etc.)

Yeah, probably. Most photo managers just list by the file name or date taken anyways.

In recent versions of Contacts (for example) there is a very clear demarcation between what part of the contact is stored on what account, so it's a bit easier.

It's good to know. To be honest, part of my behaviour is that I never tried things because I was worried it might cause problems and since I didn't really need any sync (why would I care that my phone contacts are accessible when I'm on my desktop browser?) I never went further.

In recent versions of Contacts (for example) there is a very clear demarcation between what part of the contact is stored on what account, so it's a bit easier.

It's good to know. To be honest, part of my behaviour is that I never tried things because I was worried it might cause problems and since I didn't really need any sync (why would I care that my phone contacts are accessible when I'm on my desktop browser?) I never went further.

To that point my phone contacts are also my address book and emails. It's handy sometimes.

@tsaukpaetra I guess it could be, depending on how you interact with people. Call me old-fashioned, but for me an email is a different medium than even a text message, so it never really bothered me not to be able to link both. As long as my phone knows phone numbers and my mailer knows emails, I've never felt the need for the two address books to be the same.

@tsaukpaetra I guess it could be, depending on how you interact with people. Call me old-fashioned, but for me an email is a different medium than even a text message, so it never really bothered me not to be able to link both. As long as my phone knows phone numbers and my mailer knows emails, I've never felt the need for the two address books to be the same.

Yeah, what's annoying is that even though the contacts are indeed one book, the phone apps for example only show those with numbers, and the email app only shows Cougars with email addresses. It can be confusing if I don't know relatively which contact methods I've stored for a given person, unless I start at the beginning with the Contacts App.

@tsaukpaetra I guess it could be, depending on how you interact with people. Call me old-fashioned, but for me an email is a different medium than even a text message, so it never really bothered me not to be able to link both. As long as my phone knows phone numbers and my mailer knows emails, I've never felt the need for the two address books to be the same.

Yeah, what's annoying is that even though the contacts are indeed one book, the phone apps for example only show those with numbers, and the email app only shows Cougars with email addresses.

The NSFW thread is

It can be confusing if I don't know relatively which contact methods I've stored for a given person, unless I start at the beginning with the Contacts App.

That is actually something where having all contacts together in one app helps. Some people I always interact with through one medium only (friends far away that I'll never call but email, older relatives that I may call but haven't got any email) and those would be OK with 2 address books (I'll never think of searching for my old email-less uncle in the mail app).

But then there is the in-between of infrequently used contacts where I may not know what contact I have for (some distant friend, did we exchange a few emails or was it texts?). While it might be confusing to not find them when using one app (the mail app could say "you have this contact but only with a phone number, do you want to send an SMS instead?"), at least with a single address book there is one app (contacts) where both information can be searched. With two separate address books, you have to repeat the search. Although in practice I'm likely to think "oh I must have his email" so start typing an email and only when I don't find it, search again elsewhere, so I'll end up doing 2 searches anyway...

Overall, the switchover was about as painful as I feared it might be. Good job, phone/apps/OS manufacturers!

I started with Helium to do a full backup of the old phone. That was essentially a non-starter, I never managed to connect the phone to my PC. No amount of additional drivers on the PC changed it. OK, so much for a single application to transfer everything, in any case I wasn't really hoping that it could switch from Android 4 to 7 so easily.

Contacts: I went to check that they were on my Google account. Turns out, they were not (for some reason when I first set up the old phone I told it to store contacts on the phone itself). Nevermind, I'll copy them to Google. Well, either I'm stupid, or this option actually doesn't exist. No copy to Google, all I can do is export them to a file. OK, could be worse, export, import.

Text messages: SMS Backup & Restore did work exactly as advertised! That sounds like a miracle, it's about the only part that did work.

Apps: apparently the list of installed apps is backed up in Google, which I didn't know, but that means they got re-installed automatically when I connected the new phone. Cool! Except for 2 things: 1) why do they not back up the apps data as well? and more importantly in my case 2) why did it start downloading all stuff on my mobile connection even though I connected it to wifi first, and blew up my data allowance for the month while doing so (since I was in a 4G-covered area, in the time it took me to hurriedly search how to either stop the downloads, stop the connection or at least put a cap on it, my operator had already sent me a text message saying that I would be paying an arm and a leg in extra fees this month...). Well, at least I did not have to reinstall the apps manually, just to redo all settings.

Data (including apps?): the new phone has a nifty app that is supposed to transfer files (and I assume maybe also some apps?). Again, cool! Except that the app refused to initiate any transfer, even of a file of a few KB, by saying that it needed at least 200 MB (on the old phone). Of course, all that after I did a bit of cleanup and had about 500 MB available. So... no automatic transfer either, I guess.

Pictures: since the automatic copy failed, I tried copying them from the PC where I had backed them up. The copy works, but somehow on the new phone there is always some part in the middle of the folder where the pictures become corrupted and the phone doesn't recognize them any more. Not always the same place, sometimes copying batches of 10-20 pictures did work for a time, sometimes not. I even tried turning off the phone and copying pictures directly to the SD card (in case some kind of live-scanning of the folder messed up things), nope, doesn't work. The pics themselves are OK (when looked at on my PC), and when I copy a few ones one-by-one they always turn out OK, it's only when I start mass-pushing them that something breaks. ??? (at this point, the only rational explanation I could see would be that the SD card itself is broken, but I had it in another device before and it was perfectly working, so...)

In the end, I got my apps, but each one had to be re-parameterized. I have my contacts and texts, that's the most important bits. I don't have my pictures (including the ones used for contacts), that's annoying. And I have lost a few evenings battling with all that.

The only good thing is, when I change phone again in a few years, it's going to be difficult for it to be worse.

This is one thing that's bugged me about Android. The functionality for app data to migrate is there (if you look in Settings, Backup and Restore, there's an option for it) but developers apparently don't bother to use it.

Then there's apps that do migrate the data, but do it differently. My workout app syncs to Google Drive. Fine, whatever, that works. My podcast app will let me export the subscriptions and settings and restore them in a new instance. Also works but it's manual. Then there's just ones that use their own cloud thing which is fine, provided I don't have to futz around too much to get it to work.

And then there's apps that don't let you migrate data at all, in any way, because that would be convenient. No backing up to your Google Account. No cloud syncing tied to your account you have with them. No saving to Google Drive or what have you. I mean, who on earth would want their data to move between devices when they get a new one...

As a side note, one thing that I found excellent when I got my Galaxy S7 was that Samsung Smartswitch did a largely excellent job of moving apps over - most of the data came across and it even moved apps I had installed by downloading APKs and installing manually. Should I move to an S8 come phone replacement time, I imagine it'll be even smoother considering that it would be Samsung to Samsung instead of Motorola to Samsung.